Improved automatic car-cottpling



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WILLIAM W. JEFFERY, OF GREENVIEW, AND CYRUS SNYDER, ,OF MIDDLETOWN, ILLINOIS,

Letters Patent No. 83,857 dated November 10, 1868.

' IMPROVED AUTOMATIC CAR-COU'P'LING.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patentand making part of the manic.

To all whom it may concern! 7 Be it-known that we, WILLIAM W. JEFFERY, of

Greenview, in the county of Menard, and State of Illinois, and Grnus SNYDER, of Middletown, in the coimty of Logan, and State of Illinois, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Coup ling; and we do hereby declare that the following is 'a full and clear description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the'letters of reference marked thereon.

This .invention relates to an improvement in draw heads with double hooks, and consists mainly in the the pivot-pin or bolt; and a' cam, pivoted centrally be tween the said projecting end of one link and the outer end of the other link, may be turned, by a person on the car-platform, by means of a vertical shaft or a lever,

so as to press both of the links simultaneously off of theirflat connecting-pins, and so unco'uple the cars, without any person going between them for that purpose. The links are held upon their coupling-pins by means of springs, as hereinafter more fully described, the whole being arranged so as to be self-coupling.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use our improved oar-coupling, we will proceed to describe its construction and operation. Figure 1 of the drawings is a sectional plan of the improved coupling;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional elevation of the same; and.

Figure 3 is a plan of one of the draw-heads.

The draw-heads A and B are attached tothe cars in the usual manner, andprovided with springs to take up the-inertia,-as is likewise customary. These drawhcads have links or hooks, A B, by means of which they are coupled together. The link or hook A is secured to the draw-head A by means of the pivot-pin a,

and the link or hook B is secured to -the'dr aw-headj3. by means of the pin 1). Both of these links or hooks have a lateral vibratory motion, as'is {illustrated by'the red lines in fig. l. Stationary flattened pins, 0, are fixed in each of the draw-heads for %the engagement of the books of the links A B. These pins are flattened for the purpose of afi'ording a more secure at tachment for the said hooks, and for the purpose of preventing them from becoming unhooked, when coupled, by the mere oscillation of the train. The inner ends of the links project into the head beyond the pivot-pins a as is clearly shown in fig. 1. This arrangement affords the means for. the engagement of the cam D with the ends of the said links, so as to force the said links open, as in the red lines of fig. 1,

thereby disengaging both of the said links from the .pins 0, and uncoupling the cars. Springs E are arranged in, the draw-heads, so as to throw the links on to their coupling-pins, and hold them in this position when coupled. The free ends of the links are sharpened, so as to readily enter the draw-heads, thereby enabling the coupling to be self-acting'wheu two cars are run td'gether. There may be cams,.D, in one or both of the draw-heads, as may be desired. The cam I) is attached to a vertical shaft, d, which passes up through the draw-head, and is opeiated by means. of a wheel similar to a car-brake in the case of a platform or passenger-car,or by means of a lever, F, and connecting-rod, j, in the case of a box or freight-car. A ratchet, G, and pawl, g, should be applied to the shaft d when the cam is to be operated from the car? platform. The operating-lever F may also be constructed in such a manner as to be operated from the ground by the side of the car.

Having described our i vention,

What we claim, is-

Thelinks A B, constructed and arranged as described, with the pins 0 O, and double cam D in the draw-heads', as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony of which invention, we hereunto set our hands, in presence of I WILLIAM W. JFFFERY..

CYRUS SNYDER. Witnesses:

T. B. PERRY, WM. TURKEY. 

